We’ve posted the first update of the Razzball Commenter League (RCL) Master Standings! All 21 leagues (252 teams) are included. We’ve added a permalink in the left sidebar as well for easy access to future updates. We’ll do our best to update it every week or so.

A team’s points are calculated as Points in League * Competitive League Index/100

Leagues are indexed based on the overall performance of the league using the following points formulas that were devised by Tom Tango for his projections contest where, incidentally, I finished in the top half for 2009 and I’m competing again in 2010. (Note: For RCL leagues, I tweaked his Save multiplier from 1 to 1.5 and using some wizardry to estimate AB and IP).

The average league gets an index of 100. At this point, the lowest index is 98 and the highest is 103. Basically, this index just serves as a tiebreaker should two teams have similar point totals at the end of the year.

If you want to boast or complain about your team, feel free to comment on this post or, better yet, comment in the dedicated forums section.

Two last items of business:

1) If you want your commenter handle added to the standings, please comment on this post with your RCL team name.

2) Early congrats to ‘Nobody Beats the Wiz!’ and team swpayton who are 1st and 2nd respectively.

Seems like every other Baker/Slowey/Liriano start is good. Slowey and Liriano do well, so Baker has to fall on his face. Next week Slowey or Liriano is going to stutter, and Baker will probably do great!

I’m starting to think Streamers aint got no faces either…it’s good situations thats key. Obviously you don’t want dogs but any borderline roster guy at the right park or against the right team and opposing starter works just fine.

Thanks Grey. Part of me still can’t believe someone refused to take Papi for Juan Pierre. What’s the baseball world coming to?

That said, don’t you kinda wish MLB would allow each team to have one designated player taking PEDs on its roster? Teams could develop a SUPERPITCHER who broke bats and screamed ‘roid rage stuff at hitters, or a SUPERHITTER with caveman features who snarled his way to mammoth home run records.

In RCL ‘Ones are good right?’ my team name is Worldwide Suicide and my handle here is ‘Pat’. I’m a little confused that I’m second in the league, but ranked (31) behind the 3rd place guy ‘Retro Vertigo’ on the RCL standings. What gives? This is very IMPORTANT!!! haha.

Man, Sizemore is depressing right now. With Quentin at least you have some peripherals to talk yourself off the ledge with. But Grady’s looking a little less optimistic. His BABIP is .281 so not much funny biz there, and his BB:K is 4:16. Yeck.

@nmdunkel: i’d have to be seriously hurting for SBs and in dire need for any kinda warm body at SS to make that trade. and i like maybin. he was one of my late round fliers in 2 leagues and is looking good thus far, but ethier has pretty much developed into a .290-30-100 type guy. if you are desperate for SBs i would trade a lesser part for a SAGNOF. and if you need SBs and a SS, i would trade someone buried on your bench for evercab.

@Dingo: ha, yeah. this was my first auction draft ever (been playing fantasy baseball for years, just my main league was always a snake draft), and i wasn’t thrilled with my team. even still my staff shouldn’t be this bad…lester, slowey, dlr, marcum, ervin santana at SP; marmol, dotel at RP; cueto, kennedy, garcia, and procello on the bench. i’m wishing i had spent more $$ on a #2 SP behind lester. live and learn i guess.

@Baron Von Vulturewins:
Definitely, and I happened to be the guy with Zambrano. As luck would have it, I actually dropped Wolf a few days ago for Jaime. Now instead of possibly Wolf and Jaime, I have Jaime and Millwood, the best option in the pool.

@Grey: So should we consider dropping dotel at this point? I’ve got Feliz and Cordero as my other closers right now and was considering picking up bard … He won’t get me any saves, but at least he won’t screw up all my ratios.

@Erock: Going to see them in a (relatively) small venue in Solana Beach on 5/4. Been listening to the new record too, wasn’t sure if I could dig em nearly as much without Nicolay, but it’s growing on me.

I’m jealous of the Twin Cities for having them as what I would consider the team band. My hometown of Seattle had Death Cab at opening day, leading the most twee and somber Take Me Out to the Ballgame I’ve ever seen.

San Diego, OTOH, seems to have little interest in music at the games. Though whomever programs the filler music at the games has improved a lot this year… they’ve been playing classic Beastie Boys breaks, and some Violent Femmes and not nearly as much Hoobastank and other rap/rock.

I wanna convince a Padre to play Constructive Summer when they get up to bat. GET HAMMERED! Or maybe they should just play that line when the D’Backs’ relievers enter.

@Elijah: Grey’s the one who told me to go ahead and replace them with Napoli! I’m not terribly concerned about missing out on the two HRs today, truth be told. I think Napoli will be the better option long term.

Why would I bring Dotel in for non-save situation? That’s a tough one, but I’ll take a shot. Say I’m the manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brewers run up an 18 run lead on us. And I’m real happy with myself cuz, hey, I ain’t losing by 20 or something crazy like that. But, maybe bringing in Dotel was just the thing that Prince Fielder needed to bust out of his 0-for-2010. Now, the ‘perts are saying bring in a mop-up guy, you know someone that you wouldn’t actually use to close out a closer game cuz they don’t give a shit. They don’t have Prince Fielder on their fantasy team. They probably wanted me to bring in Jack Taschner to get come-backers in the ass. Or maybe they wanted me to leave in Hanrahan, that guy works for 15 cents a day and no bathroom breaks. But what they don’t realize, is I’d like to win my fantasy baseball league this year cuz I know that my actual baseball team doesn’t have a chance in hell. And by the seventh inning stretch I was back in the clubhouse drinking martinis and fuckin’ playing hold’em with Ryan Doumit. I figured, fuck it, why not cut Andrew McCutchen, take his job and give it to John Raynor, hike up ticket prices, give up a few hits to Manny Parra, hit the hash pipe and play some cards? I could be elected General Manager for the Toronto Blue Jays.

I certainly don’t understand the ins and outs of pitching, but arms are fragile, and this seems like taking a pretty severe chance pretty early on in the year, against a mediocre team, when you should be relying on your bullpen.

@wily mo: i just re-read my own comment and got a mental image of a small donkey flying through the air, laughing. this was not my intent, but there it is. my little pony indeed.

regarding octavio “don’t ask” dotel – i actually still kind of like him. this today was stupid, and he’s generally giving up runs, but he hasn’t blown any saves yet (except for that one), he’s a veteran they signed to close and they don’t have much else so he’ll have reasonable leash, he gets Ks. and the bad-team factor for closers is deeply overrated. people talking about outright dropping him, i hear that, i smell buy-low. …if you need saves, obviously.

Yeah I think it’s not linear on saves vs overall team wins as teams like Philly and NYY are gonna blow out teams, and they will also string together wins and so guys will be unavailable at times. Teams like KC, when they do win its probably gonna be by 3 runs or less most of the time.

@Yo Soy No Bueno: Its dependent on the pitcher. Some guys have rubber arms and can just pitch forever. Other guys desperately need to stick to a pitch count because of soreness. It really does vary from pitcher to pitcher and if he’s still throwing gas at 98 mph on his last pitch, then there is no soreness in that arm.

@brad: Fascinating guy. A terrific pitcher (pitched the 2nd perfect game in ML history, besides winning 47 games one year in 600 innings (Dusty was his manager); played shortstop, was a manager, entrepenour, as well as the original Marvin Miller. Bill James’ Win Shares system has him rated as the 15th greatest non-pitcher in baseball history.

Any advice on holds? I grabbed Bard and Saito thinking I’d have a solid base, and I’m currently whiffing…I see Jensen Lewis on waivers with solid numbers and 0 holds, then some clown named Joe Smith has 3? I’m lost…

@Adam: Holds are perhaps the most arbitrary stat that I can think of. Only slightly more so than saves. I once suggested we use holds in my home league a few years ago and was bombarded with garbage and expletives. After playing in a holds league last year, I understand why.

Don’t get me started. I just re-read the chapter on closers in “Baseball Between The Numbers.” The whole saves/holds thing is absolute rubbish. Shame that managers seem beholden to the agents who drive the propagation of idiotic stats.

@3FingersBrown: I would never play in a Holds league. Wins and Saves are hard enough pitcher counting categories to manage, why add another nearly impossible stat to predict? To me, it’s as pointless as adding Sac Flys as a batting category.

Random thought, but anyway… how do you think a player like Martin Dihigo would be handled (fantasy-wise) if he existed in modern baseball? Potential 15-20 game winner on the mound, .300+ BA on his “rest” days as a batter (not to mention the position eligibility). I understand that the question is somewhat absurd, given that the chances someone could do what he did in the modern version of the game is one in a billion, but what if?

Would he show up twice in drafts/rosters (once as a batter, once as a pitcher)? Would FBB sites have to revamp their systems to allow you to move a player back and forth between the batting and hitting slots? Or revamp to allow pitchers’ batting stats to count?

@Awesomus Maximus: Ya, this is my first year playing in a holds league, I’m not thrilled about it…I hate having to leave valuable SP or even backup hitters on the FA list so I can roster Jensen f’n Lewis

@MarkM: denver traded a 2nd, 3rd, & 4th rnd pick to draft a QB who is #3 on their depth chart behind orton & quinn? glad the pats got rid of mcdaniels before he could make some mind boggling moves like that.

Honestly… I f’ing hate the fact that the NFL infects the sports world (talk shows, newspapers, Sportscenter, etc.) year round. Can’t Razzball’s baseball posts be the one place where I don’t have to read/hear about it? (not directed at anyone in particular, just an angry baseball-only fan venting)

@Awesomus Maximus: Yeah it’s silly. My home league experimented using Losses one year. Got rid of it the year after. I always laugh when I see leagues that count batters hitting for the cycle.

Hey speaking of relievers being used properly: Nice to see K-Rod come in to a game in a high leverage situation with one out in the 8th. First time in 5 years he’s had to get 5 outs for a save.

Real life reliever usage is a joke. I can’t understand how a guy who’s supposed to be your relief “ace,” can’t go 2 innings. Definitely an aspect of the game that used to be handled better, in spite of all of the breakthrough in sabremetrics and what not. It’s extra weird when you can remember guys like The Goose and Fingers coming into the game in the most critical, late-inning situation, regardless of how many outs were needed for a Save.

@herschel – chris tillman – I went to the fair today and there was some dude there that would answer your questions for a Dollar – I know thats a Dollar more that Grey charges but he predicted chris tillman

my choices are (1) drop -three- of these guys when i don’t want to drop any of them, (2) make some 2 for 1 trades but i’m kinda doubtful anybody will be biting, or (3) freeze my roster and leave all the pitchers on the DL until things evolve. i’m kind of leaning towards (3) right now. was almost hoping CJ got owned tonight just to help me simplify, but no such luck.

BOSTON — Daisuke Matsuzaka will be inserted into the Boston Red Sox’s rotation, manager Terry Francona said before Thursday’s game, and according to a team source, Tim Wakefield was told before the game he will be moved to the bullpen.

The Wakefield move was first reported by Comcast Sports New England’s Sean McAdam. (then reported by sal)

I’ve never understood all the hate for holds as a stat. It’s essentially a save in the middle of a ball game, and while the criteria to earn one is a little more varied than a save, it’s not THAT much more complex.
The hold is (unfortunately) the only stat that really makes mid relievers relevant in fantasy, and I personally hate the idea of a whole section of the player pool being irrelevant in a standard 5×5. Especially one as important in real baseball as the mid reliever is.
Just look for primary setup men with dominant stuff, and you should be fine.

Maybe it’s just me, as I certainly seem to be in the minority on this, but I don’t get why so many cats hate hate hate the hold.

@Elijah: I hear that. I don’t have a problem with streaming though. If you want to play matchups all year long, good luck with that. If I could predict who’s going to win all the time, I’d be in book-making, not fantasy baseball. I don’t like playing with Loses because, like Wins and Saves, they’re far too dependent on circumstance and not the actual skill of a pitcher.

Wow Smoak’s up huh? Pretty exciting. Too bad I just put in a bid on Ike in the only league where I really have a spot for him.

@Grey: From what I’ve read, Smoak seems like he’s got more upside than Ike huh?

i’m not going *crazy* for smoak in mixed leagues at this point. like, i just hovered over him for a few seconds and then failed to pull the trigger on dropping hermida for him. smoak hit 10 homers in almost 400 AB between AA and AAA last year. 2 so far this year in 46 AB. he’s 23 years old. kotchman’s on the wire in that league; they might not be that different this year.

on the plus side, his K:BB is great, he’s a switch-hitter and everyone seems to agree that the power talent is in there. it *could* suddenly appear. who knows. i just added him in two leagues that are so deep pretty much every position player with a starting job is owned except for cesar izturis, and i’m pretty happy about it. i just wouldn’t expect miracles in terms of HR power this year.

@All: Who’ll be the bigger fantasy contributor this season/long term: Smoak or Carlos Santana. I have Santana in a keeper and I’m thinking he might be more valuable due to position scarcity – particularly as trade bait down the stretch.

@wily mo: Yeah I hear you. I’ve heard so much about this kid for two years now, all the Texiera comparisons, but I see those so-so power numbers and I don’t know what to think. Never seen him with my own eyes, so I find it hard to judge. Obviously, if he keeps walking like he has, he should definitely have more value in an OBP league.

@Anyone……Smoak getting called up kind of kills me, I play in a keeper league (12 team, roto, 5X5) where we have no bench spots except for one minor league player that must be listed as “NA” by yahoo. As soon as your minor league player is called up they must be moved into an active spot or the commish cuts them within 24 hours. So my dilemma is I’d like to hang on to Smoak as it’s a keeper league and I only have a few players who are not under contract for next year.

I have to choose from:

Borbon
Stephen Drew
Peavy

I have the best offense currently, but am hurting for steals so I’d like to give Borbon some time. I think Peavy is the obvious choice, especially after tonite. My other pitchers are Ubaldo, Nolasco, Price, Slowey, Marcum (he’s a keeper costing me next to nothing so I’d keep him over peavy) so I think I can afford to lose Peavy.

@Yo Soy No Bueno: my eyeball says guillen. he’s kind of a d-bag, and he’s probably going to pull up with some awful nagging injury that saps his production for the rest of the year at some point, but it’s real hard for me to find my way to drop a guy who’s hitting like that, and who we know has 30-homer power when he’s healthy (no matter how fat that asterisk is), for a dude who’s 23 and getting his first taste of the majors and hit ten home runs in the minors last year. (well, 12, but two of them were in rookie ball. those poor kids.)

like i said above, i can’t bring myself to drop hermida for smoak. and i’d rather have guillen than hermida.

the OBP thing does help smoak (we think), and he’s probably a better bet not to disappear completely.

@Yo Soy No Bueno: @wily mo: Cool, thanks guys. Probable pitchers is working for me. Smoak makes billy butler disposable for me, surely I can trade him for something better then what Peavy is putting out right now

– So it turns out Filthy Sanchez Greinke’d us in historical proportions the other day. Apparently, he “was involved in just the second Giants game since 1900 in which they lost a nine-inning game despite allowing one hit”.

– I suppose I should learn from my sonavabench episode last week and start Nolasco against Colorado tomorrow?